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“So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”
Joel 3:17 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB “So you will know that I am Yahweh, your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no strangers will pass through her any more.
  • KJV So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
  • BSB Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, never again to be overrun by foreigners.
  • NASB Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling on Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will no longer pass through it.
  • NLT “Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, live in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy forever, and foreign armies will never conquer her again.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God's people will know He dwells in Zion, His holy mountain, now made holy and secure from invaders. His abiding presence sanctifies and protects His people.

Overview

The aim of God's judgment and deliverance is that His people would know Him as their God dwelling among them, with Jerusalem made holy and inviolable. This assurance of God's secure, sanctifying presence is the crown of restoration. It anticipates the new covenant and the heavenly Jerusalem, where God dwells with His redeemed people forever through Christ (Revelation 21:3).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 19

  • Joel 2:27You will know that I am among Israel, and that I am Yahweh, your God, and there is no one else; and my people will never again be disappointed.
  • Isa 52:1Awake, awake! Put on your strength, Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city: for from now on the uncircumcised and the unclean will no more come into you.
  • Nah 1:15Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, Judah! Perform your vows, for the wicked one will no more pass through you. He is utterly cut off.
  • Rev 21:27There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
  • Isa 4:3It will happen, that he who is left in Zion, and he who remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even everyone who is written among the living in Jerusalem;
  • Jer 31:23Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I shall bring again their captivity: ‘Yahweh bless you, habitation of righteousness, mountain of holiness.’
  • Zech 14:20–21In that day there will be on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO YAHWEH”; and the pots in Yahweh’s house will be like the bowls before the altar.
  • Joel 3:21I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed: for Yahweh dwells in Zion.”
  • Ezek 43:12This is the law of the house: on the top of the mountain the whole limit around it shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
  • Ezek 48:35It shall be eighteen thousand reeds around: and the name of the city from that day shall be, Yahweh is there.
  • Obad 1:16–17For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so will all the nations drink continually. Yes, they will drink, swallow down, and will be as though they had not been.
  • Isa 12:6Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!”
  • Mic 4:7and I will make that which was lame a remnant, and that which was cast far off a strong nation: and Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion from then on, even forever.”
  • Zeph 3:14–16Sing, daughter of Zion! Shout, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem.
  • Zech 8:3Yahweh says: “I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the middle of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called ‘The City of Truth;’ and the mountain of Yahweh of Armies, ‘The Holy Mountain.’”
  • Ps 76:2His tabernacle is also in Salem; His dwelling place in Zion.
  • Ps 9:11Sing praises to Yahweh, who dwells in Zion, and declare among the people what he has done.
  • Isa 35:8A highway will be there, a road, and it will be called The Holy Way. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it will be for those who walk in the Way. Wicked fools will not go there.
  • Dan 11:45He shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one shall help him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Joel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Joel 3:17YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JoelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The promised outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh and the call to 'everyone who calls on the name of the LORD' are fulfilled at Pentecost in the name of Jesus.

How Joel 3:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.